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Breon Allen, 7, was killed and 21-year-old Lafayette Mango was injured during the shooting outside of a home on the Westside in January.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Four men are facing murder charges in connection to the January shooting death of 7-year-old Breon Allen, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Wednesday.
Waters identified the suspects as Keith Fields, 18, Dannel Larkins, 20, Keith Johnson, 21, and Zharod Sykes, 24.
They all are facing second-degree murder charges, conspiracy to commit murder and attempted first-degree murder charges in the Jan. 24, 2025 shooting that left Breon dead and 21-year-old Lafayette Mango injured, Waters said.
The sheriff said Fields, Larkins and Sykes are all documented gang members, while Johnson is a documented gang associate.
“This murder was a culmination of escalating violence between two rival street gangs or street groups,” Waters said during a press conference Wednesday. “It was a targeted, planned act, one with which during the murderers clearly saw Breon walking innocently with the intended target, Lafayette Mango.”
According to JSO, Mango is a known gang associate.
The shooting happened just after 5 p.m. on Jan. 24, in the area of Commonwealth Avenue and Almeda Street on the city’s Westside. Police said multiple shooters ambushed Breon and Mango, firing gunshots and killing the child.
Waters said the suspects were taken into custody in January, but official murder charges were not filed until now.
Police anticipate more arrests being made, as investigators believe other individuals planned and participated in the deadly shooting.
“We know who they are and our investigators are building strong evidentiary cases against those perpetrators,” Waters added. “They will be arrested. They will face the justice system.”
Waters said he doesn’t want Breon to be remembered for how he died, but rather the life he lived.
“What you want to remember is his parents, the good times, the wonderful things that they shared, his football career, his athleticism,” Waters explained. “A sweet young man, who had a very, very, very bright future. That’s the best way that I can put it, I don’t know if there’s any way to really express the impact of such a loss.”
First Coast News spoke with Breon’s mother, Casheena Love, on the evening of the shooting.
She described losing her son as a “nightmare.”
“I have never experienced nothing like this in my life and I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy,” Love said. “I never, never thought I’d be burying one of my babies.”
Weeks after her son’s murder, Love spoke to First Coast News about concerns for her and her family’s safety, saying she believed her family could be a target of more gang violence.
“It could cause a lot of issues in the streets,” Love said. “It could just blow up into something bigger than what it really is, and I don’t want my name or my family’s name involved in it. Because we did nothing wrong, we are the victims. Our son was taken from us.”
The investigation into the case remains ongoing.
